People have asked, “Where is the Palestinian Gandhi?” One response has been Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who created the documentary Five Broken Cameras. Another good example is the young woman in our opening video who stood up to Israeli troops who were destroying Palestinian homes. This video should become an icon for nonviolence like the Tank Man in Tiananmen Square, or like Rachel Corrie, the young American woman who was killed by Israeli tank drivers for engaging in nonviolent resistance to the destruction of Palestinian homes.
A well-kept secret–perhaps because it is not as “newsworthy” as violence–is the substantial efforts of many Palestinians and Israelis to engage in nonviolence to resolve their rival claims to lands that the United Nations assigned to Palestine.
If you click on this link, you will see a long list of organizations that are working for nonviolence on the part of Israelis, Palestinians, or both.
A helpful article in The Economist about Palestinian efforts at nonviolence challenges Americans to support them in their quest.
Also inspiring is a brief documentary regarding Just Vision, a group founded by an American Jewish woman, Ronit Avi, working to promote nonviolence between Israelis and Palestinians through films such as Budrus.
To learn more about the many different examples of nonviolent resistance that Palestinians have adopted in response to Israeli occupation and what former President Jimmy Carter called the Israeli policy of apartheid, watch this video.
Many Israelis and Jews elsewhere in the world have supported the Palestinian cause. I believe that together these two waves of nonviolent protest against illegal occupation of Palestinian lands can bring about peace. You can join them.
March 16 was the tenthanniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie in Gaza. Read her story on Engaging Peace and consider how you can join the worldwide observances to honor her nonviolent efforts at promoting peace.
Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology